Energy and industrial monitoring
Energy and industrial
Measure what generation, geothermal and industrial process plants actually experienced, so the decision to keep running, restrict or shut down starts on measured data, not a precaution.
Trusted on critical assets
Downtime is the expensive part.
When a quake hits a generation site or a plant, stopping is the safe default and every hour stopped is lost output. The question is which structures actually saw enough motion to matter, and which are clear to keep running.
Canterbury Seismic instruments the structures that carry the risk: the powerhouse, the penstock anchor, the process unit, the plant building and its elevated tanks and silos. It records what each experienced against a free-field reference on one synchronised clock, drives configurable thresholds into alerts and dry-contact relays, and gives operations a measured basis for keeping the asset running or standing it down.
How energy and industrial sites are instrumented, from two units up
Start: one to two instruments at the single most critical structure. The powerhouse, the main process unit, or the boiler house and elevated tanks.
Standard: the critical structure plus a free-field station, with thresholds relayed into the control system. Enough to separate a real event from a non-event and trigger the response plan.
Extended: full array across the site on one EQR-C, LVDT for structural or joint displacement, site weather on the same clock, weighted trigger voting and relays into operations. For hydro and tailings dams, see the Dams and Hydro page.
Right-sized protection: IP54 as standard for plant rooms, IP65 where the location is wet, outdoor or remote. Solar-powered installs are proven on remote sites.
Proven across power and industry
Our instruments run on hydro and geothermal generation and on industrial process plants, from petrochemical units to meat and food works, integrated into owners' own control and response systems. Supplied, installed and commissioned across New Zealand and Australia by the team that builds the hardware.
Why Canterbury Seismic is the right seismic and structural monitoring partner.
Modular seismic monitoring, configured to your site.
Your data, in your systems
Every instrument records raw time-series acceleration and outputs MiniSEED, CSV and a programmatic HTTPS API, with SeedLink streaming and dry-contact relays into your SCADA or PLC. The web interface is the console, so there is no separate software licence or subscription to run it. Feed the record into your existing dam-monitoring and control systems, or hand it to your engineer's own analysis tools. If you specify instrumentation as a consultant, we supply the measurement layer for your analysis. Your data stays yours.
Talk to us about your site
Tell us the asset, the production decision an event forces and the control system it feeds. We will scope the instrumentation to that decision.
Energy and industrial monitoring questions
What energy and industrial assets can it monitor?
Hydro and geothermal generation, and industrial process plants such as petrochemical, meat and food processing. Anywhere a structure has to be judged safe to keep running after shaking. (Tailings and hydro dams are covered on the Dams and Hydro page.)
Can it relay straight into our control system?
Yes. Configurable thresholds drive dry-contact relays into SCADA or PLC the moment measured motion is exceeded, alongside email and SMS alerts.
Does it work on remote, unpowered sites?
Yes. Solar-powered installs are proven on remote, unpowered sites, recording continuously and alerting over cellular.
Do we need a subscription?
No. The instrument's web interface is the console, with no separate software licence. The record feeds your existing control and asset systems.
How does this relate to dam monitoring?
Tailings and hydro dams are covered in more detail on the Dams and Hydro page; the same instruments and central recorder are used, scoped to the dam's consequence category.
Has it recorded real earthquakes?
Yes. Canterbury Seismic instruments have captured strong ground motion through a major earthquake sequence and run continuously on operating energy and industrial sites.